Portland State University Geography Department

In 1990 Dr. Poracsky hosted an informal urban Greenspaces seminar that attracted park and greenspace planners from throughout the metropolitan region. Poracsky and his graduate student Paul Newman created the region’s first Greenspaces map using color infrared photography in 1989.

The Audubon Society of Portland and Metro funded a May, 1989 aerial flight of the bi-state, four county region. The light lines on this map indicate the routes flown by Bergman Photographic Services, a local aerial photography firm.

The Institute has had a longstanding partnership with PSU’s Geography Department.

In addition to producing the first ever regional Greenspaces map, the PSU Geography Department co-hosted several Country in the City symposia with the Audubon Society of Portland that laid the groundwork for creation of a regional parks and Greenspaces system.

The Urban Greenspaces Institute continues its collaborative relationship with Dr. Poracsky and other PSU faculty from its offices in Geography’s Center for Spatial Analysis and Research, The Center for Spatial Analysis and Research (CSAR) serves researchers and organizations in the greater Portland area for projects involving four broad areas of expertise: Cartography; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Remote Sensing; and Education.

CSAR-affiliated faculty are actively engaged in delivering education in CSAR-related technologies through the undergraduate and master's curriculum of the Geography Department, the GIS Graduate Certificate Program, and specialized short courses. CSAR is thus an important extension of the academic and community service missions of the University.

This image depicts the computerized result of Newman’s digitizing efforts.

Paul Newman, PSU Geography Graduate Student, worked with the department’s Dr. Joe Poracksy to digitize regional color infrared imagery to allow the Institute and others to create a bi-state regional natural areas map.

The resulting map for the first time depicted the all remaining natural areas within the four county Portland-Vancouver region. This map formed the basis for all subsequent parks, trails, and natural area planning in our region.

The PSU Geography Department, working with the Audubon Society of Portland, Urban Greenspaces Institute and other partners, hosted a series of seven Country In The City symposia and other public events focusing on regional parks and natural areas. The most recent event was the 2003 Olmsted Centennial.

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"Marked economy in municipal development may be effected by laying out parkways and parks to embrace streams that carry at times more water than can be taken care of by drain pipes of ordinary size. Thus brooks or little rivers which would otherwise become nuisances that would some day have to be put in large underground conduits at enormous expense, may be made the occasion for delightful local pleasure grounds or attractive parkways."

-- John Charles Olmsted, 1902 Report to Portland Park Board